Content Areas
Environmental Politics
University of Connecticut, Spring 2022
Undergraduate Students
Syllabus
Course Objectives: Environmental policy is one of the most important and contentious areas of politics today. In this course we will cover what falls under the domain of environmental policy, and how do institutions shape environmental policy outcomes. Critically, we will consider how institutions respond to both changes in the environment, and the opinions of individuals, in shaping environmental policy. This course will consider policies from the local to the international level.
POLS 3203: Environmental Policy and Institutions
Stony Brook University, Summer 2019 & 2020
Undergraduate and M.A. Students
Course Objectives: Environmental policy is one of the most important and contentious areas of politics today. In this course we will cover how environmental policy is made, what major federal policies exist today and how they were implemented, and how these policies shape and are shaped by public opinion and individual behavior. Overall, by addressing these three topics, this course will give students the tools to understand and evaluate the complex circumstances surrounding environmental policy. 1. Process: What is environmental policy and how is it made? 2. Outcomes: What are the major federal environmental policies? 3. The Public: How does individual behavior and opinion relate to environmental policy?
POL 390/543: U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics
University of Connecticut, Fall 2021, 2022
Undergraduate Students
Course Objectives: The environment is a complex system that can be studied, managed, and even damaged from many directions. In this class we will consider the environment from a wide array of perspectives including the arts and humanities, the various social sciences, and the biophysical sciences. Our place as humans in the world and in this particular space of Storrs and New England will be emphasized as we investigate the major themes of environmental studies. But we will also consider many environmental issues from the local to the global.
EVST 1000e: Introduction to Environmental Studies
American Politics
University of Connecticut, Spring 2022, 2023
Undergraduate Students
This course provides an overview of public opinion in the United States. We will explore how
opinions change, and how opinions affect (and are affected by) politics. This course is divided into two sections where we will answer the following questions: 1) What is public opinion and how is it measured? In the first half of the course, we will learn about the different decisions we make when measuring public opinion, for example, how should we contact people? How do we word our questions? In this section, students will learn how these decisions shape survey outcomes, and why this means we sometimes see very different statistics about the public’s opinion across news sources. 2) What shapes public opinion? In the second half of the course, we will turn to the different political and personal forces that shape how the public thinks about different issues. For example, how do our friends, family, and elected officials change how we think about different current events? Students will have the opportunity to apply the theories we learn to a political topic of their choosing.
POLS 3625: Public Opinion
University of Connecticut, Fall 2022
PhD Students
Course Objectives: This course is designed as an introduction to general theories of American political behavior and public opinion. As this is the “core” course, we will survey many topics instead of concentrating on any particular topic. Each week we will read some of the classic, foundational pieces as well as some of the more recent, cutting-edge pieces. What we discuss each week in class will only scratch the surface of each topic. For this reason, additional readings are included on the syllabus for each week. Students who are planning on making American politics their major field of study are expected to master these readings on their own.
POLS 5408: Advanced Topics in American Political Behavior
Stony Brook University, Winter 2019
Undergraduate Students
Course Objectives: The US Congress is, literally, the most powerful legislative body in the world. In fact, the US Congress has more authority over policy-making than the legislatures of most other democratic nations. What does this power mean for American democracy and what does this power mean for the policy process? In this course, we will consider the inner workings of Congress through three questions: 1. What happens during Congressional elections? 2. How do members legislate? 3. Do outside forces have influence on Congressional politics?
POL 323: U.S. Congress
Methods
University of Connecticut, Fall 2021
Undergraduate
Course Objectives: Students will learn the basics necessary to conduct empirical research in political science. Although a good portion of the class will be spent learning to calculate different statistics, an equal emphasis will be placed on learning how to properly interpret statistics and how to apply them to answer real world political questions. There will be five units in this course, covering: Introduction to statistics, Probability, Hypothesis testing & T-Tests, ANOVA, and Correlation & Regression.
POLS 2072q: Quantitative Analysis in Political Science
University of Connecticut, Spring 2023
PhD Students
Course Objectives: Students will learn the basics necessary to conduct quantitative research in political science. Although a good portion of the class will be spent learning to calculate different statistics, an equal emphasis will be placed on learning how to properly interpret statistics and how to apply them to answer real world political questions. The course will require hands on data work and transform students from passive consumers of quantitative data to critical analysts and practitioners.
POLS 5604: Quantitative Methods of Political Science